Stoker



W. T. HANNA July 24, 1934.

STOKER Original Filed Oct. 11, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet Hid/727720 INVENTOR mpwolz fizz/ma BY r- W ATTORNEY [7 2 awn- 6 6d,

July 24, 1934. w., T. HANNA I 1,967,242

sTOKER Original Filed Oct. 11, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Willi am Ham/x072 Karma July 24, 1934. w HANNA 1,967,242

STOKER 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Oct. 11, 1928 Ill INVENTOR Patented July 24, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application October 11, 1928, Serial No. 311,727 Renewed May 3, 1934 15 Claims.

1, '5 be noted the provision of a stoker that mechanically elevates the fuel through a conduit from below the deck of the locomotive to a fuel-preparing and feeding device located above the deck in alignment with the firing opening.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a stoker with mechanism, for elevating the fuel from below the deck of the locomotive to the preparing and feeding device, that will not become inoperative from the 'lodgment of any foreign matter which may happento be in the fuel, such 7 as a track spike for example.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a stoker with a device to deflect a preponderance of the fuel, delivered by the elevating means, toward the right or left side of the preparing and feeding device.

Another object of i the invention is to provide a stolcer of this character which feeds the fuel through the regular firing opening and which is arranged to provide for a clear observation of the conditionof the firebed at all times and to permit unobstructed use of the firing rake or hook and use of the shovel whenever necessary.

Another object of the invention is to provide aconstruction in a stoker of this character by which the action or movement of the coal immediately preliminary to its entering the firing hole may be readily observed by merely opening the fire door, and Without displacing or interfering with the functioning of any of the stoker mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide a stoker of this character which insures an even and controlled flow of fuel to the fire box and which is compact and of simple design and which is of sturdy construction, thus economizin'g space on the locomotive and insuring long life.

These and other apparent objects and advano tages are attained by the means described in the Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section and reduced in scale showing the connection between the stoker' and the locomotive tender.

On the drawings, 10 represents the back-head of a locomotive fire-box having the usual grate-bars l1 and firing opening 12. Embracing said opening, and rigidly. mounted on the outer face of the back head, is a fuel supply housing 13, which has a preparation chamber 13-a provided with a delivery opening 13--b which coincides substantially with the firing opening 12. Substantially in alignment with the opening 13-19, in the opposite wall of said housing, is an openingv 3-c-which is embraced by a conventional form of fire-door plate 14, having an opening li-a which serves as a fire-door opening, and upon which plate may be mounted the usual automatic fire-door (not shown), such as for example the Franklin butterfly type. The lower side of the delivery opening 13b comprises a portion of the housing 13-11, which constitutes in effect a ledge extending across the firing opening 12 and serves as a sort of spillway for the fuel as it enters the fire-box.

The housing 13 also has an elevating conduit portion 13-e communicating with the chamber 13-a and the said conduit portion has a receiving opening in the form of a chambered extension 13--- which encompasses the delivery end of a conveyor 15 rotatably supported in a cylindrical conduit 16. The said conveyor 15 has its opposite end operatively associated with the fuel conveying and crushing mechanism mounted on the tender 5. Referring to Figure 4., the said conveying and crushing mechanism may comprise a horizontal conveyor 6 suitably supported for rotation in a. fuel trough '7, the said conveyor being provided with a gear '8 through which it is driven by a shaft 9 suitably mounted for rotation on the frame of the trough '7 and carrying a gear (not shown) which engages the gear 8.

The top portion-of the'elevating conduit 13--e adjacent the back-head l0 terminates in a concave lip-shaped portion 13h, the top of which constitutes the ledge 13-d.. As shown in Figure 3, the top edges of the sides of the conduit 13e terminate in convex lip portions, the front concave lip portions and the side convex lip portions running into each other in a smooth surface.

Suitably arranged within the preparation chamber 13-11 of the housing 13, is a fuel preparing device which may be of any suitable character, but in this instance the device is shown as comprising a plurality of fuel preparing elements .suchas the rotary elements or screws 17 and 18 which are journaled in cap plates 19 and 20 forming part of the side walls of the said housing. The lip portions 13h lie beside and underneath the elements 17 and 18, and substantially parallel with the periphery of said elements and extend forward a substantial distance beyond the axes of said elements (see Figure 3). In this way, the elements 17 and 18 are fitted or lowered into the housing 13, their axes being maintained ina position substantially level with the ledge 13--d. The lip portions 13-h cooperate with the elements 17 and 18 to support the mass of fuel elevated thereto as the elements break the mass down, loosen it, or to otherwise prepare it for the spillway, and move it forward. The said elements are so positioned in the housing relative to the delivery opening l3-b as to leave said opening substantially unobstructed. The action of these elements in preparing the fuel for presentation to the fire, and moving the same through the opening 13b is similar to the action of a fluid passing in lateral waves over a spillway, which in this instance may be designated as the ledge 13d. As best shown in Fig. 3, the inside contour of the housing 13 formed by the side convex lip portions on each side at the top of conduit 13e is such that there is sort of deadspot adjacent the end of large diameters of the elements 17 and 18 and thus a portion of the fuel being fed to the said elements by conveyors 45 and 46 may be permitted to fiow over the top edge of the said conduit and relieve any tendency to pyramid along the center line of the housing.

Immediately after the fuel has passed over the so-called spillway, it fiows upon and over a blast chamber 21, which is positioned inside the firing opening 12 directly below the ledge 13-d. The said blast chamber is provided with arms 21-a and 21--b bymeans of which it is supported in the side walls of the housing 13 through the medium of pipe sections 22 and 23, anchored respectively in the said arms. Said pipe sections are coupled to the high and low pressure steam lines 24 and 25, respectively through unions 26 and 27 and the steam therein is controlled by means of valves 28 and 29.

Immediately below the blast chamber is a distributor plate 30, normally stationary but slidably mounted for adjustment. The distributor plate cooperates with the blast chamber to scatter the fuel in the most effective manner, particularly as regards the distribution thereof to the back corners of the fire-box which areas are supplied mainly through the agency of the channels 30a. High pressure steam issuing from the fingers of the blast chamber distributes the larger lumps which ride down the fingers, and the low pressure steam underneath the fingers distributes that fuel which falls down between the fingers In order that the distributor plate 30 may serve to more effectively cover all areas of the fire-bed, its position longitudinal thereof may be varied by means of the crank shaft 31, suitably journaled in hearings on the housing 13 and having a handle 31--a and a crank 32, which latter is pivotally connected to the distributor plate by means of the link 33. In these drawings the distributor plate is shown in its advanced or forward position.

Such fuel distributing means as I have shown and described, in order to operate satisfactorily, requires that the fuel fed thereto be in individual particles, in contradistinction to masses of joined particles, and that these particles be fairly evenly distributed over the surface of the blast chamb r,

By particles, I mean those pieces of coal which naturally result from the crushing of the coal by the usual crushing mechanism employed in connection with automatic stokers for bituminous coal. For example, if the stream of fuel coming over the so-called spillway to the top of the fingers of the blast chamber 21, is all on one side, or is hig her in the middle than at the end, the fuel distributing means can not operate so effectively to spread the fuel evenly over the bed, as when the stream of fuel is supplied to the top of the blast chamber in a uniform thickness. Further, if the fuel comes to the blast chamber in large unit masses of particles, the steam issuing from the various ports of the blast chamber merely blows holes through the masses, and does not distribute the particles making up the masses over the fuel bed. As a result, the unit masses of particles act to stop the even flow of the fuel, and/or simply fall off over the edge of the blast chamber in smaller masses, in the front end of the fire box. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to even out the stream of fuel fed to the distributor plate, and to insure its being fed thereto in substantially individual particles, in contradistinction to the large unit masses of particles bound together.

The fuel coming up into the conduit l3-e may or may not be in individual particles. If it is, the fuel preparing elements 17 and 18 simply act to continuously move the fuel forward in an even stream to the blast chamber 21, insuring a uniform depth of the stream of material going over the spillway. The elements 17 and 18 act to prevent the fuel from piling up in the chamber 13 and sliding forward onto the blast chamber in large waves, and/or at irregular intervals. Further, if the particles coming from the conduit 13-e are moist, they are likely to be bound together by the action of the water into a unit mass, and the fuel stream then issues from the conduit 13e in a sausage-like manner. However, the elements 17 and 18 act to prepare the fuel for the blast chamber by separating the particles making up the mass. This is accomplished byactually breaking down the mass, and/or by shaving off the stream of fuel as it enters the chamber 13 from the conduit l3e.

In order to provide a control for the lateral distribution of the volume of fuel passing over the ledge 13d, I have provided means for varying the effective lateral length of said ledge. This result may be accomplished in various ways, but in this instance I have provided laterally adjustable members 34 and 35 which are slidably mounted in the side walls of the housing 13 and rest upon the ledge 13d. The said members are arched in cross-section so as to extend preferably over the elements 17 and 18, and each of said members may be individually positioned laterally of the housing so that they not only control the effective length of the ledge 13d but may also serve to throw the effective length of said ledge out of center with the firing opening 12, and thereby direct a greater volume of fuel to the right or to the left as desired. The operating means for the members 34 and 35 comprises levers 36 and 37 pivotally supported upon pins 38 and 39 rigidly mounted in lugs 13-g extending from the housing 13, the said levers having operative engagement with the members 34 and 35 through pins 40 and 41.

The elements 17 and 18 may be actuated in any suitable manner but in this instance, I have pro vide each element with an individual changeeach of the cap-plates l9 and 20, and is manipulated by means of the handle i3 on each device. Power is transmitted to the elementsl-I and 13 through the change gear device by means ofits connection with rotating shafts of a power device 48;. the connection preferably being in the form of telescopic shaftsu58 equipped withuniversal joints as shown.

The fuel preparing device, the blast chamber, the distributor plate, themernbers34 and 35,'to gether with the devices for operating and controlling each of these elements are disclosed in my U. S. application Serial No; 286,222, and do not enter primarily into the novelty of this inventionexcept insofar as theirposition and operation are combined withother elements herein described; v

The conduit portion 13- e of the housing 13 has mounted therein elevating device which receives the fuel as it-is delivered by the conveyor and servesto elevate the same above the deck 44 to the preparation chamber 1-3-a in'the housing in which is located the fuel-preparing device.

This elevating device may be of any suitable character but in this instance, I have provided a duplex arrangement of elevating. members in the formof spiral worms'45'and46 which are suitably journaledin a cap plate 4'7 forming. a closure for thelower end of the conduit portion 13e. In thisinstance, I have shown the worms arranged with their axes parallel and as being rotated in opposite directions, as shown in Fig. 2, but it is to be understood that if desired thedirection of rotationmay be the reverse'of that shown. These worms are arranged: within a single conduit with their axes on opposite sides of and substantially equi-distant from. the longitudinal center line discourage the tendency of the coal tobecome packed or clogged as it is passed along by the said conveyors. The worms 45 and 46am operatively connected at their lower ends with. rotating shaftsof the power device 48, the connections being in the form of universal joints as shown.

. Under some conditions, it may be desirable to have a deflector positioned in the preparation chamber 13a intermediate the delivery end of the conveyors 45 and 46 and the rotating elements 17 and 18. This deflector may be of any suitable character, either normally stationary or movable, but in this instance, I have shown a deflector in the form of an adjustable vane49, which is pivo'tally supported in the walls of the housing '13 by means of the shaft to which the said vane is secured; The vane 49 is normally stationary but arranged for radial adjustment by means of a controlling lever 51 secured tothe outer end of the prises the delivery of the fuel from the tender shaft 50; Thelever 51 is equippedwith aretaining device comprising an index plunger 52 mounted in the outer end of said lever, and whichis arranged to engage one of a. series of index holes 53- arranged in arc formation on the face of housing 13. In this manner. the vane 49 may beadjusted radially so as to direct the fuel being; delivered by the conveyors 4.5 and 46, either uniformly: to the right hand fuel-preparing element 17 and the left hand element 18, or it may be adjusted so as tofeed a preponderance of fuel to either one'or the other of said elements as-desired.

"The conduit, the elevating device and the de- .flector, together with the means for operating and controlling each of these, are of the same 3 character as the corresponding elements disclosed in my U. S. application Serial No. 295,727, and do; not enter primarily into the novelty of this invention except insofar as their position and operation are combined with other structural elements herein described.

i The power device 48-, by means of which the conveying, elevating and fuel-preparing mechanism is operated my be of any suitable character butI have here shown a power device in the form of a steam motor like that disclosed in my U. S. Patent 1,577,462, in which the primary transmission element comprisesa rack and pinion, such as the rack. 54 and pinion 55, and it is this form of primary transmission element that I prefer to have embodied in the power device for operating a stoker of the character described herein, but it should be understood that other forms of transmission elements may also be used effectively. However, the power device of whatever character, preferably should be provided with a control lever such as the lever 56, arranged to beindexed in various radial positions as herein shown, such as for example one position for rotating the el ments 1'7 and 18 and the elevating vanes 45 and as in a forward direction, and another position for reverse motion thereof. If desired, a third position may be utilized for stopping the rotation of the said parts. Also there should be'provided a control lever, such as the lever 57, for starting and stopping rotation of the conveyor 15, and its associated mechanism on the tender as previously referred to.

The operation of this stoker mechanism comto the locomotive by the conveyor 15 and its reception therefrom by the elevating worms 45 and 46' by which the fuel is carried to the preparation chamberl13-a where it is received by a fuel-preparing device such as the rotating elements 17 and 13,.which serve to loosen and prepare the fuel to pass into the fire-box above the level of the fire by flowing over .the ledge 13-d and subsequently falling upon and flowing over the blast chamber 21, which action tends to further distribute it and prepare it for reception by the distributor plate 30, from which it is scattered over the fire by means of the blasts from the blast chamber.

It should be particularly observed that one distinct advantage of the construction shown is that the fuel ismechanically elevated to the preparing device thus assuring an even and constant supply of fuel to said device.

That part of the subject matter shown in the specification, but which is not claimed, is covered in co-pending applications.

While I have shown and described a particular construction embodying this invention as applied to a locomotive, it is to be understoodthat 1550 the same'is for illustration only and that I am not limited to the detailed features thereof as it is obvious that the construction may be variously modified and altered without in any manner departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a stoker mechanism, in combination, a

fuel-supply housing having a delivery opening including a ledge which constitutes in effect a spillway, means for varying the effective length of said ledge, a fuel preparing device mounted for motion within said housing and adapted to cause fuel to flow over said ledge, means comprising a plurality of rotating worms mounted side by side within a single conduit for feeding fuel to said preparing device, and means for causing motion of said Worms and said preparing device. 2. In a stoker mechanism, in combination, a fuel-supply housing having a delivery opening including a ledge which constitutes in efiect a spillway, means for varying the effective length of said ledge, a distributor plate positioned adjacent said ledge and having means for directing fuel particularly toward the sides and back corners of the fire-box, a fuel-preparing device mounted for motion within said housing and adapted to cause fuel to flow over said ledge, means comprising a plurality of rotating worms mounted side by side within a single conduitfor feeding fuel to said preparing device, and means for causing motion of said worms and said preparing device.

3. In a stoker mechanism, in combination, a fuel-supply housing having a delivery opening including a ledge which constitutes in effect a spillway, means for varying the effective length of said ledge, a fuel preparing device mounted for motion within said housing and adapted to cause fuel to flow over said ledge, means for governing the speed of motion of said preparing device, means comprising a plurality of rotating worms mounted side by side within a single conduit for feeding fuel to said preparing device, and means for causing motion of said worms and said preparing device.

4. In a stoker mechanism, in combination, a fuel-supply housing having a delivery opening including a ledge which constitutes in effect a spillway, means for varying the effective length of said ledge, a distributor plate positioned adjacent said ledge and having means for directing fuel particularly toward the sides and back corners of the fire-box, a fuel-preparing device mounted for motion within said housing and adapted to cause fuel to flow over said ledge, means for governing the speed of motion of said preparing device, means comprising a plurality of rotating worms mounted side by side within a single conduit for feeding fuel to said preparing device, and means for causing motion of said worms and said preparing device.

5. In combination with a fire box having a firing opening and a distributor adjacent said opening for distributing the fuel fed to said opening over said fire box, a stoker mechanism including a fuel supply housing having a delivery opening communicating with said firing opening, means for supplying fuel to said housing including a conduit and a plurality of rotary worms mounted side by side in said conduit for moving the fuel therethrough, and means associated with said housing for mechanically conditioning the fuel fed from said conduit for said distributor and for aiding its flow through said delivery opening.

6. In combination with a fire box having a firing opening and a blast chamber adjacent said opening for distributing the fuel fed to said opening over said fire box, a stoker mechanism including a fuel supply housing having a delivery opening communicating with said firing opening, a lower edge of said opening including a ledge positioned in a plane above said blast chamber, means for elevating fuel to said housing comprising a conduit and a plurality of rotary worms mounted side by side in said conduit for moving the fuel therethrough, and means in said'housing for substantially continuously moving fuel received from said conduit in a uniform stream over said ledge without materially interfering with the flow of fuel from said conduit.

7. Incombination with a fire box having a firing opening and a blast chamber adjacent said opening for distributing the fuel fed to said opening over said fire box, a stoker mechanism including a fuel supply housing having a delivery opening communicating with said firing opening, the lower edge of said opening including a ledge positioned above the base of the housing, means for-elevating fuel to said housing comprising a conduit and a plurality of rotary worms mounted side by side in said conduit for moving the fuel therethrough, and means in said housing for mechanically preparing and loosening said fuel for said blast chamber and for insuring its substantially constant and uniform flow over said ledge to said blast chamber.

8. In combination with a fire box having a firing opening and a blast chamber adjacent said opening for distributing the fuel fed to said opening over said fire box, a stoker mechanism including a fuel supply housing having a delivery opening communicating with said firing opening, the lower edge of said opening comprising a ledge positioned abovethe base of said housing, means for elevating fuel to said housing including a conduit and a plurality of rotary worms mounted side by side in said conduit for moving the fuel therethrough, said ledge acting to maintain a level of fuel in said housing above the base thereof, and means in said housing for mechanically preparing said fuel for said blast chamber in a loose condition and for insuring its substantially constant and uniform flow over said ledge to said blast chamber.

9. In combination with a fire box having a firing opening and a distributor adjacent said opening for distributing the fuel fed to said opening over said fire box, a stoker mechanism including a fuel supply housing having a delivery opening communicating with said firing opening, means for supplying fuel to said housing comprising a conduit and a plurality of rotary worms mounted side by side in said conduit for moving the fuel therethrough, means associated with said housing for mechanically preparing the fuel fed from said conduit for said distributor, and for controlling its flow through said delivery opening, said means including at least one rotary vane or worm rotated to move the fuel in the general direction of said delivery opening.

10. In combination with a fire box having a firing opening and a blast chamber adjacent said opening for distributing the fuel fed to said opening over said fire box, a stoker mechanism including a fuel supply housing having a delivery opening communicating with said firing opening, means for elevating fuel to said housing including a conduit and a plurality of rotary worms mounted side by side in said conduit for moving fuel there- 1' through, and means in said housing for substantially continuously moving fuel received from said conduit in a uniform stream through said opening without materially interfering with the flow of fuel from said conduit, said means comprising a plurality of rotary vanes mounted in said housing.

11. In combination with a fire box having a firing opening and a blast chamber adjacent said opening for distributing the fuel fed to said opening over said fire box, a stoker mechanism including a fuel supply housing having a delivery opening communicating with said firing opening, the lower edge of said opening comprising a ledge positioned above the base of said housing, means for elevating fuel to said housing including a conduit and a plurality of rotary worms mounted side by side in said conduit for moving fuel therethrough, said ledge acting to maintain a level of fuel in said housing above the base thereof, and means in said housing for mechanically preparing said fuel in a loose condition for said blast chamber and for insuring its substantially constant and uniform flow over said ledge to said blast chamber, said means including a plurality of rotary vanes mounted in said housing, the axes of said vanes being substantially level with said ledge and generally directed toward said delivery opening. 7

12. In combination with a fire box having a firing opening and a blast chamber adjacent said opening for distributing the fuel fed to said opening over said fire box, a stoker mechanism including a fuel supply housing having a delivery opening communicating 'with said firing opening, the lower edge of said opening comprising a ledge positioned above the base of said housing, means for elevating fuel to said housing including a conduit and a plurality of rotary worms mounted side by side in said conduit for moving fuel therethrough, means in said housing for substantially continuously moving fuel received from said conduit in a uniform stream over said ledge without materially interfering with the flow of fuel from said conduit, said means including a plurality of rotary vanes mounted in said housing and generally directed toward said delivery opening, and means associated with said housing for controlling the direction of movement of said fuel from said conduit, said means ncluding a vane mounted above said conduit for directing the fuel to either side of said housing.

13. In combination with a fire box having a firing opening and a blast chamber adjacent said opening for distributing the fuel fed to said opening over said fire box, a stoker mechanism including a fuel supply housing having a delivery opening communicating with said firing opening, the lower edge of said opening including a ledge positioned above the base of said housing, means for elevating fuel to said housing comprising a conduit and rotary worms mounted side by side in said conduit for moving fuel therethrough, means in said housing for substantially continuously moving fuel received from said conduit in a uniform stream over said ledge without materially interfering with the flow of fuel from said conduit, said means including a plurality of rotary vanes mounted in said housing and generally directed toward said delivery opening, and means associated with said housing for control ling the flow of fuel from said housing, said means including independently laterally adjustable members for varying the length of said ledge.

14. In combination with a fire box having a firing opening and a blast chamber in said fire box adjacent said opening for distributing fuel, fed to said opening, over said fire box, a stoker mechanism including a fuel supply housing having a delivery opening communicating with said firing opening, the lower edge of said delivery opening including a ledge which constitutes in effect a spillway over which fuel may move from said housing to said blast chamber, means for elevating fuel to said housing including a conduit and a plurality of rotary worms mounted side by side in said conduit for moving fuel therethrough, and a fuel preparing means mounted for motion within said housing and adapted to cause the fuel to move over said ledge in a substantially constant and uniform flow and with substantially the same rate of flow with which it is received from said conduit.

15. In combination with a fire box having a firing opening and a blast chamber adjacent said opening capable of emitting high and low pressure steam blasts for distributing fuel fed to said opening over said fire box, a stoker mechanism including a fuel supply housing having a delivery opening communicating with said firing opening, means for elevating fuel to said housing including a conduit and a plurality of rotary Worms mounted in parallel side by side arrangement in said conduit for moving fuel thereto, and fuel preparing means including rotary vanes mounted in said housing, the rate of rotation of said vanes being controlled to effectually loosen and otherwise prepare the fuel received from said conduit, and for moving said fuel in a substantially uniform and continuous stream through said opening to said blast chamber.

WILLIAM THOMPSON HANNA. 

